Dean and all,
I assume you have read this study. It provides strong support for the idea that certain strains of endogenous bacteria are better than others at preventing disease, that antibiotics may have a negative effect of beneficial bacteria, and that specific strains of beneficial bacteria could be cultured and used therapeutically

The ability to inhibit other honey bee
pathogens should be further investigated to
document the full extent of the probiotic properties
of the LAB flora of honey bees. In addition,
strains within Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium
possess properties for enhancing
the immune response in humans (Nova et al.,
2007) and in honey bees (Evans and Lopéz,
2004) which could further increase their importance
to honey bee health. Furthermore,
it is important to investigate if management
practices, such as antibiotic administration,
may influence the probiotic flora and potentially
lower the threshold for disease establishment.

We can conclude that the newly identified
probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium
phylotypes exhibit strong inhibitory effects on
P. larvae growth, and can to some extent prevent
symptom development of AFB in honey
bee larvae infected by P. larvae.

Novel lactic acid bacteria inhibiting Paenibacillus larvae
in honey bee larvae
Eva Forsgren, et al
Apidologie 41 (2010) 99–108
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